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A 34 year old musician was stabbed to death by neo-nazi 45 year old. Ok, this much is something that can happen elsewhere. Problem is that the neo-nazi political party has 10%, and is in the parliament. In addition to that the austerity measures have torn the country SO MUCH that right now I'm afraid of a civil war.

In all honesty if something like this happens, I'll take my kids, a copy of all EMF scores, plus a few hard drives, an flee the country... And I'm NOT kidding!

[/panic mode off]

I previewed my post (as I advise others to do so) and I can see that the above is very... panicky. But it remains a dangerous situation right now, exactly because Greece has no social network to speak off: We never were a society and right now this is more evident than ever!

Nikolas, if you are really concerned then it might be best to get repositioned in another country starting immediately, probably through connections you can get some sort of artistic employment and/or an artist's permit for many places. Unless you have a very good idea of where you are going and why then it might be best to not choose a Euro country, Japan, the U.K. or the U.S.

If you delay then by the time you leave you might not be able to move any Euros to speak of out of the country as already is the situation in Cyprus.

And whether you stay or go, don't keep your money in Euros or any of the other paper currencies.

I'm very sad for your country and this situation. It seems like civility and decorum have become passe. We don't hear much about Greece in the US, so it's your judgment that matters here. If you don't feel safe then perhaps it's time to leave. I sometimes feel the US has gone crazy but it seems much of that is just media hype. We have Neo-nazis in the US too, but I only hear about them when I get a communication from the Southern Poverty Law Center (a group devoted to exposing hate crimes and teaching tolerance). I know my support won't mean anything but you have it. I respect you, your music and your judgment.

I'm safe right now and both my kids are fast asleep in their room... So things are, right now, ok.

The right wing party (the neo nazi one) called Golden Dawn is getting ready to appear in the very place that Pavlos was killed.

The left wing party (around 20% in the recent elections) decided that the government is off the law (for whatever reasons of their own) and want to do some sort of a guerilla war inside Athens!

I don't know what on earth is happening right now... I'm keeping a very close eye on what's going on, and I hope that me and my kids will be safe. There's already more than 1 people to accommodate us abroad (including my wife in Azerbaijan) and there's bank accounts in England, where we lived for 4 years...

Oh, Nikolas, that's very unnerving. I am reallly sorry to hear news like this and I can imagine all the concerns that are running through your head.

I can also imagine that it is more difficult with your wife being out of the country - no one at home to talk to about all this. Sure there's phone and skype, but it isn't the same.

I pray that this will all settle down very soon. My thoughts are with you - stay safe!

_________________________ XVIII-XXXVISometimes I try to progress faster than I am ready for.SwissMsFollow your teacher's instructions and practice wisely/much, and you'll soon wonder how you ever found it hard. BobPicklePerformance anxiety: make it part of your daily routine and deal with it...Cope! zrtf90

I think that if a large group of people figures out a way to put the situation in Greece on the world's public agenda Europe will start watching the situation more closely, something that can definitely prevent drastic events like a civil war.I don't know how much you can actually do, but if there's any way to raise public awareness, it's worth trying.(Of course, wait and see how the situation developes, maybe things will work themselves out over time, I sure hope they will.)

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"If I decide to be an idiot, then I'll be an idiot on my own accord."- Johann Sebastian Bach.

You are right to be feeling worried. History is full of tragic examples where people waited until they were "sure" a civil war or other disaster was brewing, and then it was too late.

Adopt a rational economics perspective: Lay out all the costs/benefits of leaving now/later/not at all, with the situation in Greece either deteriorating/getting better. You should decide to leave if this kind of analysis leads you to conclude that the cost of inaction given a bad outcome FAR outweighs the cost of acting and it turning out to have been unnecessary.

Nikolas, I am very concerned for you. Unfortunately, when economic conditions become stressful, history has show that the smaller minded people look for someone to blame, thus the hate crimes. In this day and age, sanity usually does pervail and I pray that it will. I can't offer any advice other than to remember that family always comes first.

I'm also hoping that sanity will prevail. It's just that all this pressure is changing people! And our lenders don't seem to care much about the wreckage of Greece in the end.

I have always watched the rise of the Golden Dawn with trepidation. It is unfortunate that in such stressful times, people will turn to whoever promises them the quickest, easiest way out, even if those promises come with a loaded weapon pointed at their heads. Violence is never the answer.

I have many Greek friends. Some are still there; some moved here a long time ago. All of them are worried, too.

Stay safe, keep your head down, and if you should need a couch overseas somewhere -- I have two.

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Every day we are afforded a new chance. The problem with life is not that you run out of chances. In the end, what you run out of are days.

I am definitely a "don't panic" kind of guy, but I will add my voice to the chorus suggesting you and your family consider leaving before it becomes too difficult or complicated to do so, if you're apprehensive about the situation. It may be difficult to know how things will turn out there, but your peace of mind - to say nothing of your family's safety - is of immeasurable value.

Golden Dawn's behaviour is both ridiculous and dangerous. They seem to operate by brute force and intimidation, and in the videos I've seen there is hardly anyone who stands up to them. Whatever happens with them the economic situation in Greece is not going to get better in the near future as the persons in power both in the Euro countries and the U.S./U.K., and now the present Japanese Prime Minister, don't seem to ever have read even one economics treatise or studied and spent much time thinking about any papers on monetary theory, and when they do something right it is by chance or because they are forced by circumstances. If I were you I would look to leave regardless of what happens with Golden Dawn. I wouldn't want to live somewhere where the economic situation has deteriorated to the extent that the power companies need government bailouts to keep the lights on. You need to think about what is best for you and your family and about the fact that the process to get securely into another country for the long-term can take a bit of time. A lot of Greek residents are moving to Sweden (and you would not need to learn Swedish as almost everyone here speaks English) but there are other options in Europe which might be better such as Norway and Switzerland.

Nikolas, after Michael's post, you must think very seriously about where you are going to move. Sure, Sweden and Norway have a thousand years of culture, and fjords, and those little wooden shoes -- no, wait, that's Holland. But Philadelphia has the Rocky statue. Just sayin'..

Edit: got my country-of-origins mixed up!

Edited by Derulux (09/18/1311:24 PM)

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Every day we are afforded a new chance. The problem with life is not that you run out of chances. In the end, what you run out of are days.

Nikolas. Sorry to hear this. I too think you need to get out for the sake of children. My prayers for safety of your family.

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Solo - Rachmaninoff Elegie Op 3 #1, Schumann Op 12 Warum, Grillen and a few short pieces by various composersCollaboration - Concerto in C for Oboe and orchestra attributed to Haydn edited by Evelyn Rosewell and some duets

As I wrote my post, I started worried if it is wise to have this thread. Any one can search the web with GD and get this thread. And Nicholas, they can easily uncover you. You may want to ask the mods to remove the thread and going forward you may call the party Gold evening or something.

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Solo - Rachmaninoff Elegie Op 3 #1, Schumann Op 12 Warum, Grillen and a few short pieces by various composersCollaboration - Concerto in C for Oboe and orchestra attributed to Haydn edited by Evelyn Rosewell and some duets

Nikolas, it must be terrible living in such fear. Its hard to get a clear picture and assess the situation via the internet. Hopefully any decision you make will be rational and not based simply on fear. Although, it does seem that you could bring your skills to another country and work from there. However, leaving your country and family indefinitely must be a terrible decision to have to make. What about a temporary leave such as visiting your wife? (who if I understand is working overseas already?).

As I wrote my post, I started worried if it is wise to have this thread. Any one can search the web with GD and get this thread. And Nicholas, they can easily uncover you. You may want to ask the mods to remove the thread and going forward you may call the party Gold evening or something.

you're actually right I think... hmmm... I'll have to contact Kreisler to the rescue once more...

As I wrote my post, I started worried if it is wise to have this thread. Any one can search the web with GD and get this thread. And Nicholas, they can easily uncover you. You may want to ask the mods to remove the thread and going forward you may call the party Gold evening or something.

I doubt any Golden Dawn members are keen classical pianists who might chance upon these posts. Their focus seems to be against immigrants in Greece (which Nikolas is not) which shows how ignorant they are of the causes of these economic issues.